The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1887-10-28
Progress in the Printing Art.


burg's Bible centuries ago. Printing
presses and all other printing appllan-
ces have more than kept pace with the
matchless progress of the nineteenth
century; but with over fifteen thousand
printing offices in the United States,
and from seventy-five to one hundred
millions paid annually for composition
each type must be twice handled single
for every publication. The inventive
genius of the world has long been dl-
rected to produce practicable method
of automatic typesetting, just as the
best genius of the world was scores of
years devoted to the production of a
printing press capable of printing both
sides of a newspaper at once, but thus
far no system has been sufficiently per-
ected to supplant the old method of
type-setting by hand.
The Washington Post quickens pub
lie interest in automatic type-setting by
issuing supplement to its last Sunday
edition that is entirely set by the Limo
type machine, and in the paper is an
interview from Stilson Hutchins ex-
planning the improvements and capa-
bilities of the invention. Beyond its
partial use on the New York Tribune
and its more general use on the Post,
we believe that automatic typesetting
has not yet invaded the composing
room of any of our leading public jour
mails; but if half that is claimed for the
invention can be realized by its adopt
ion, it must speedily revolutionize the
present mode of type-setting. The
Post supplement is neatly set and
justif ed, and is printed quite equal to
the average of good printing in daily
newspaper offices, and Mr.. Hutchins
claims for the machine, in the hands
of il competent printer, Il capacity OF
from eight to ten thousand ems per
hour as against seven or eight hundred
ems by hand. 1t has the additional
advantage of presenting the newspaper
in suit of entirely new type each day
or week, as the types are cast in lines as
they are set by the composition. who
| works the machine by keys such as are
used in writing machines.
OF course, there are many imperfect
ions and present drawbacks to this in
yention: but it would be idle to close
our ewes to the fact that automatic
composition in books and newspapers
| is close at hand. When it can be pro-
| fitably used on such Il Journal as the
New York Tribune and can turn out
an entire supplement for such news
| paper as the Washington Post, with as,
surance of economy in time, space and
money, necessity will hasten the per
fection of the improvement and its COM
plete adaptation to the wants Of the
composing room, just as perfected ma
chinery has been summoned by public
necessity in every other channel of me-
chanical enterprise. When invention
can grapple with problem involving
nearly a hundred millions Of annua
outlay in single country, it has every
incentive to tireless and exhaustive eff
fort; and the automatic setting of type;
has now reached the point that it i;
only question of perfecting an attain
ed method of improvement to date the
introduction of automatic composition
| When the London Times first printed
its edition by steam early in the present
century, the preiudices of the old han(
pressmen against any innovation upor
their labor were so implacable that tht
edition was worked clandestinely by
the publishers, and then the announce
ment was made to the bewildered press
men. Their work had been done by {
composition, and resistance was useless
Since then the world has grown il
everything. and the most intelligen
body of skilled workmen, such as prin
ters are in every land, may regret bu
the less welcome an improvement tha
| must place their calling on Il highel
| plane of mechanical art. If automatic
composition shall come, as now appears
! TO be inevitable, it will not destroy tht
type-setting industry any more than
steam and lightning presses have des
troved the calling of the pressmen. The
| pressmen is now an artist in his protes
sion, and there are fifty times the mum
Der of pressmcn employed that found
employment when printing was done
by hand. In like manner the printer
| will become an artist when automatic
| type setting shall be the rule of printin!
offices. and there will be multiplied
books and newspapers and multiplied
employment, even ut better wages, TO
all who shall be equal TO the race fo
the survival of of the tttest. Invention
has never lessen;d the reward of indus
try. On the contrary, every substitu
ton of machinery for hand labor ha
increased both labor and wages, becaus
it has elevated the standard of mechan
ical art in every industrial channel, anC
has left behind only those who faile,
to give intelligent application and in
| ln Stry To their callinU